Cold Flame
by Tamisin
Summary: Josfer is a Khajiit child who got separated from his caravan. He is found by Nisra and her companion, Kharjo, who promise to return him to his mother. But what really happened? Why was he forgotten? Josfer wants answers as he searches for his lost family. He must learn how to survive the harsh wilderness of Skyrim, or be killed by what he hates most: dragons. KharjoxF!Dragonborn


**I do not own Skyrim or the Elder Scrolls.**

**Welcome to my first Skyrim fanfiction. I have not read a single story from this fandom, but I am an avid player of the game and the idea for this story just randomly popped into my mind one day. Hopefully, there will be nothing in here that is too similar to the work of others. If there is, I assure you it's unintentional.**

**For this story, I might provide a link here (with spaces after the periods) to music that I feel contributes to the mood. You do not have to listen to it. It's there if you feel like listening. I do not own any of this music, and it belongs to whoever made it. (**www. youtube watch?v=pUZeSYsU0Uk)****

Chapter 1: Alone

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I shivered.

My mother had always told me about the burning sands and rainy jungles of Elsweyr, but I could only ever recall the unforgiving frost of Skyrim against my fur. I could not imagine the sun, which she said shone on the gleaming desert, when the only sun I had ever known was pale and weak, often hidden from view by dark clouds. Still, I took comfort in trying valiantly to picture such brightness in my mind's eye, as if it could stave off the cold just a little longer.

Huddling against the wall of the unwelcoming inn, I tucked my head into my arms and curled into a fluffy ball. My thin black fur was no match for the blizzard, and I wished then more than ever that I had never strayed from my caravan.

Ah, well. If they ever found me, I was sure to be in for the scolding of a lifetime. Mother would probably never let me out of her sight. But then, as I peeked up at the white sky, I realized that I would be lucky if I ever saw her again.

My treacherous stomach chose that moment to let out a fearsome growl, and I curled up once more. I couldn't beg. No one would care about a lost Khajiit kit. The Nords didn't want us in Skyrim anyways.

I felt a silent tear freeze on its way down my cheek.

I glanced up as an uncaring guard patrolled past my hiding spot. He didn't even turn his head. Sighing, I resigned myself to starving for another night.

Unfortunately, the guard must have heard me, because he noticed me this time. "You there! Hey, you mangy rat!" he demanded. "What're you doing, stinking up my city? Get outta here, rascal!"

Cowering into my alley, I tried to run away, but I was numb from the cold, and couldn't move fast enough. I stumbled and fell, and was forced to the ground by the guard's foot. Staring up into the helmet of my aggressor, I froze in terror. He seemed to notice my temporary paralysis, because he leaned down and spat in my face. I then realized that his breath reeked.

"Are ye deaf, cat?" he sneered. I was so scared, I couldn't even manage a response. All I could do was cry. The guard straightened, muttering, "Pathetic. Get out of my sight." And he walked away. I knew that if he saw me again, I would be a dead cat, so I finally regained control of my limbs and scrambled away.

After wandering the town, Morthal, it was called, I found a secluded spot underneath the porch of one of the few houses that weren't situated on the water. The space was only barely large enough to fit me, but it had more protection from the wind and searching eyes. There was still a harsh draft that made its way in from time to time, but for the most part, I thought that I had found my temporary home.

I would wait for my caravan to find me. They had to. Surely they would have noticed that I was gone by now, and they'd be looking for me. It had only been a day. Ma'dran must have turned around. Ra'zhinda wouldn't have let him go on without me.

Or would she?

I banished the thought from my mind. My own mother would never abandon me. I just had to stay where I was, and I'd be fine.

I tried very hard to convince myself of this, repeating the words in my head, but slowly, they started to lose meaning. It was a mindless task, something to distract myself from the dire situation I was truly in, but what else could I do? I had no money, no friends, and no family. My caravan likely thought I had frozen to death in the blizzard, or been lost to the moor.

We had been on our way to Windhelm at the time I had gotten lost, and there was a long way between it and Morthal. I knew from previous trips that the road was populated by snow trolls and cave bears, to which I'd be nothing more than an afternoon snack. I knew I would receive no help from the Nords, as I had already experienced firsthand, and since Morthal was such a barren town, there was little chance of coming across a group of travelers who would be willing to accompany me to Windhelm.

With hardly any hope alive in my mind, I shifted around in my makeshift den, and tried to go to sleep. Who knew? Maybe my mother had left me for dead, one side of me whispered. But then, in a stronger tone, the other side of me declared that it was likely my mother was on her way to Morthal, and would find me by morning. I smiled faintly at that thought, and grasped it tightly as I drifted into unconsciousness.

She'd find me. I believed in her.

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**I'm not too sure about an update schedule yet, and I have a feeling that chapter lengths are going to vary greatly. It really depends on how inspired I am feeling and how long my real life time constraints are. Anyways, leave a review if you like it so far or whatever. I am not expecting much until at least after the next chapter, because that's when we actually get into the story. This first chapter is a prologue of sorts, and doesn't provide anything more than the introduction of a main character and a small bit of back story. The relationship with his mother is going to be important, though. And yes, the kit is a 'he'.**

**I will be posting the next chapter as soon as I type it up.**


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